(AP)—Ten-year-old Alexis Carey has a rare but intractable form of epilepsy, Dravet Syndrome. The genetic diseases causes severe and multiple seizures, which often leave parents guessing if the terror of watching their child ...

A study on the perceived risk of regularly using cannabis and the characteristics associated with these perceptions found that non-white, low-income women over the age of 50 were most likely to perceive a ...

With virtually no hard proof that medical marijuana benefits sick children, and evidence that it may harm developing brains, the drug should only be used for severely ill kids who have no other treatment ...

While debate about recreational marijuana use continues, researchers are investigating the effectiveness of cannabis for treating pain, spasticity, and a host of other medical problems. In a symposium organized by the McGill ...

Scientists at the University at Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions (RIA) are studying chronic stress and depression, with a focus on endocannabinoids, which are brain chemicals similar to substances ...

(AP)—Republicans lawmakers in Florida who once opposed medical pot are now embracing it, motivated by the strong show of support from voters and worried that another constitutional amendment during next year's presidential ...

Young adults who used marijuana only recreationally showed significant abnormalities in two key brain regions that are important in emotion and motivation, scientists report. The study was a collaboration ...

Smoking today's concentrated pot might be risky business for women, according to new research from Washington State University. The study is the first to demonstrate sex differences in the development of tolerance ...

Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers have discovered that marijuana-like chemicals trigger receptors on human immune cells that can directly inhibit a type of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) found in late-stage AIDS, ...

Colorado already is being sued by two neighboring states for legalizing marijuana. Now, the state faces groundbreaking lawsuits from its own residents, who are asking a federal judge to order the new recreational ...

On average, states allowing the medical use of marijuana have lower rates of deaths resulting from opioid analgesic overdoses than states without such laws. Opioid analgesics, such as OxyContin, Percocet and Vicodin, are ...

While marijuana use by teens has been increasing since 2005, an analysis of data from 1993 through 2009 by economists at three universities has found no evidence to link the legalization of medical marijuana to increased ...

Medical cannabis

Medical cannabis (commonly referred to as "medical marijuana") refers to the use of the Cannabis plant as a physician-recommended drug or herbal therapy, as well as synthetic tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and other cannabinoids. There are many studies regarding the use of cannabis in a medicinal context. Use generally requires a prescription, and distribution is usually done within a framework defined by local laws. There are several methods for administration of dosage, including vaporizing or smoking dried buds, drinking or eating extracts, and taking synthetic THC pills. The comparible efficacy of these methods was the subject of an investigative study by the National Institutes of Health.

Medicinal use of cannabis is legal in a limited number of territories worldwide, including Canada, Austria, the Netherlands, Spain, Israel, Finland, and Portugal. In the United States, 13 states have recognized medical marijuana: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington; although California, Colorado, New Mexico and Rhode Island are currently the only states to utilize "dispensaries" to sell medical cannabis.

Seven U.S. states are currently considering medical marijuana bills in their legislatures: Illinois, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York and North Carolina. South Dakota also has several petitions in interest of medical marijuana legalization.

Cannabis has a long history of medicinal use in many cultures. The U.S. federal government, as represented by the Department of Health and Human Services, holds a patent for medical marijuana. Yet, medical cannabis remains a controversial issue worldwide. The Supreme Court ruled in 2005 that the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution allowed the government to ban the use of cannabis, including medical use; the Food and Drug Administration states that "marijuana... has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States".